There has been a boom in the number of wild rabbits at Somerset Dam, north-west of Brisbane.

Somerset Mayor Graeme Lehmann says mild weather conditions and green grass around the dam have created ideal breeding conditions for the animals.

"When you're actually driving along of a night time and you see the rabbits hopping across the road you know that it's bad then," he said.

"People have rung in that they've seen rabbits where they haven't seen them before, so we encourage people to make sure that if they see a rabbit population that we do get onto it straight away, because they breed like rabbits."

For local cattleman Trevor Stretton, it has become a real problem.

"They dig, they make a mess doing that and destroy the plants," he said.

The council has been conducting a baiting program at a campsite on the banks of Somerset Dam.

Pest management officer Shane Lampard says it is starting to take effect.

"One female rabbit can push out up to eight rabbits at a time, eight kittens, and then four months later those female kittens can actually breed again, he said.

"With this baiting program we've been able to reduce the population in this area alone by 80 per cent.

"After this round of baiting that we're currently cleaning up from, I feel we'll have at least a 98 per cent knock down."

Councillor Lehmann says he is concerned about people keeping rabbits as pets.

"We're seeing rabbits of all kinds, there's one like you see today the little brownish-coloured rabbits, but there's black and white ones, there's all different coloured rabbits ... they'd have to come from domestic rabbits at some stage," he said.

He says it is illegal to keep rabbits in Queensland and anyone caught can be fined $2,200.

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